Historical eventOctober 271962

Rudolf Anderson

Major Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance airplane is shot down over Cuba by a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile.

Everything on October 27Original source

In context

When
Saturday, October 27 196264 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1960s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1962.

What happened

Major Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance airplane is shot down over Cuba by a Soviet-supplied surface-to-air missile.

October 27 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1962Rudolf Anderson
  2. 1999Armenian parliament shooting
  3. 1999Nairi Hunanyan
  4. 2004Boston Red Sox
  5. 2011Michael D. Higgins
  6. 2014Operation Herrick
  7. 2017Catalonia
  8. 2018Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
  9. 2018Leicester City F.C.
  10. 2019Islamic State
  11. 2019The Mocking of Christ (Cimabue)

Also in 1962

  • September 9Charles de GaulleFrench president Charles de Gaulle delivered his "speech to the German youth" to 20,000 people in the courtyard of Ludwigsburg Palace (pi…
  • September 12We choose to go to the MoonIn a speech at Rice Stadium in Houston, U.S. president John F. Kennedy reiterated an aspiration to land a man on the Moon before 1970 (vi…
  • September 13James MeredithAn appeals court orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, the first African-American student admitted to the segrega…
  • September 15Soviet UnionThe Soviet ship Poltava heads toward Cuba, one of the events that sets into motion the Cuban Missile Crisis.
  • September 17NASANASA announced the Next Nine astronauts selected for the purpose of landing on the moon.
  • September 18Aeroflot Flight 213Aeroflot Flight 213 crashed into a mountain near Chersky Airport, killing 32 people.
  • October 20ChinaChina launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.
  • July 13Cabinet reshuffleIn an unprecedented reshuffle, British prime minister Harold Macmillan (pictured) dismissed seven members of his cabinet.

Everything we record for 1962 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Rudolf Anderson”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/rudolf-anderson-1962-october-27, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Rudolf Anderson happen?

October 27 1962 — 64 years ago, on a Saturday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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